Monday, November 12, 2018 — DT 28769 (Published Saturday, November 10, 2018)

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28769
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, June 19, 2018
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28769]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Mr K
BD Rating
Difficulty - ★★★	Enjoyment - ★★★
Falcon's Experience ┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐ ███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ Legend: █ - solved without assistance █ - incorrect prior to use of puzzle solving tools █ - solved with assistance from puzzle solving tools █ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by puzzle solving tools █ - solved but without fully parsing the clue █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's Crossword Blog █ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by solutions from Big Dave's Crossword Blog █ - reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's Crossword Blog █ - yet to be solved

Introduction

I needed just a little bit of electronic help to identify the Italian dance.

I invite you to leave a comment to let us know how you fared with the puzzle.

Notes on Today's Puzzle

This commentary is intended to serve as a supplement to the review of this puzzle found at Big Dave's Crossword Blog, to which a link is provided in the table above.

Click here for an explanation of conventions and symbols used in explaining the parsing of clues.

The purpose of this article is to explain the conventions and symbols that I use on this blog in explaining the parsing of clues.

Legend: The following symbols are used in reviews: "*" anagram "~" sounds like "<" indicates that the preceding letters are reversed "( )" encloses contained letters "_" replaces letters that have been deleted "†" indicates that the word is present in the clue

The review of a clue takes the following general structure:

#a/d   Clue containing parsing markup (num^*)

---

^* num = numeration

Explanations pertaining to the wordplay (or first definition in a double definition)

(Horizontal separator)

---

Explanations pertaining to the definition (or second definition in a double definition) and solution.

Explanatory Box

An explanatory box provides additional information about the clue. In most cases this information will not necessarily help in solving the clue but provides information about the clue. In the case of the weekday syndicated Daily Telegraph puzzles, such information is often intended to help the North American solver appreciate how the clue may be perceived by a British solver. These boxes may also provide information on people, places, films, television programmes, works of art and literature, etc. mentioned in the clue. Although the titles of these boxes will usually be drawn from a standard list, I do occasionally throw in a title specifically suggested by the subject at hand. The standard titles include: Scratching the Surface - an explanation of the surface reading of the clue Delving Deeper - in-depth information pertaining to a subject mentioned in an explanation The Story Behind the Picture - for weekday puzzles, information about an illustration found on Big Dave's Crossword Blog What did he/she/they say? - for weekday puzzles, an explanation of a remark made in a review or comment on Big Dave's Crossword Blog What are they talking about? - for weekday puzzles, an explanation of a discussion on Big Dave's Crossword Blog One box that may provide information that could prove helpful in solving the clue is the following: Here and There - for weekday puzzles, discusses words whose British meaning differs from their North American meaning

Note that there are many types of cryptic crossword clue and it is not my intention to exhaustively go through all of them here. I will only deal with clue types to the extent necessary to explain the conventions and symbols used on the blog. Furthermore, be aware that, in the world of cryptic crosswords, there seems to be an exception to every rule.

With one exception that I can think of, cryptic crossword clues provide two routes to the solution. These are commonly referred to as the definition and wordplay. While these terms serve well for most clues, there are some cases where the more formal terms of primary indication and subsidiary indication may be more appropriate.

Most cryptic crossword clues consist of a definition (primary indication) and wordplay (subsidiary indication). The definition may be a "precise definition" (a definition that is either taken straight from a dictionary or at least phrased in a non-misleading fashion) or it may be a "cryptic definition" (a definition misleadingly phrased so as to misdirect the solver either with respect to the meaning of the definition as a whole or to an incorrect sense of a word used in the definition).

The only type of clue that I can think of where there are not two ways of finding the solution are those in which the entire clue is a cryptic definition.

I identify precise definitions by marking them with a solid underline in the clue and cryptic definitions by marking them with a dotted underline.

In clues in which both definition and wordplay are present, the two parts of the clue combine to provide an overall meaningful statement (the surface reading) which usually bears no relationship to the underlying cryptic reading of the clue. In some cases, an extra word or phrase will be inserted into the clue to create a meaningful link between the definition and wordplay. I define clues which contain such a link word or link phrase as having an explicit link and clues which contain no link word or link phrase as having an implicit link.

I mark the existence of an explicit link by enclosing the link word or link phrase between forward slashes (/link/) and mark the existence of an implicit link with double forward slashes (//) positioned between the definition and wordplay.

Examples

A few examples may help to illustrate these points more clearly.

The first example is a clue used by Jay in DT 28573:

• 4d   Fellow left work // a failure (4)

Here the definition is "a failure" which is marked with a solid underline to show that it is a precise definition. The wordplay parses as F (fellow; abbrev.) + L (left; abbrev.) + OP (work; abbrev. used in music) which gives us the solution F|L|OP. The double forward slashes (//) between the definition and wordplay indicate the existence of an "implicit link" between the two parts of the clue (that is, no extra words are inserted into the clue to form the link).

The second example is a clue used by Giovanni in DT 28575:

• 29a   Female going to match // travels with mother in advance (10)

Here the definition "female going to match" is cryptic (the setter is attempting to misdirect our thoughts to a sports event rather than a marriage ceremony) and thus is marked with a a dotted underline. The wordplay is {RIDES (travels) + (with) MA (mother)} contained in (in) BID (advance) giving us the solution B(RIDES|MA)ID. As in the first example, the double forward slashes indicate the presence of an implicit link.

The third example is a clue used by Rufus is DT 28583:

• 18d   Knight caught by misplaced big blow /is/ staggering (8)

Here the definition is "staggering" which is marked with a solid underline to show that it is a precise definition. The wordplay parses as N ([chess symbol for] knight) contained in (caught in) an anagram (misplaced) of BIG BLOW producing the solution WOBBLI(N)G. Finally, forward slashes mark the link word (/is/).

I also use distinctive underlining to mark &lit.^[7] and semi-&lit. clues. Note that the reviewers on Big Dave's Crossword Blog generally prefer to refer to these clue types by the less pretentious names of all-in-one or semi-all-in-one clues respectively.

In an &lit. clue^[7] (or all-in-one clue) the entire clue provides not only the definition (when read one way), but under a different interpretation also serves as the wordplay.

In future, I will mark such clues with a combined solid and dashed underline. Although this is a departure from past practice, it would seem to make more sense than using a dotted underline as I have in the past). Henceforth, the dotted underline will be reserved for cryptic definitions.

In a semi-&lit. clue (or semi-all-in-one clue), either:

• the entire clue acts as the definition while a portion of the clue provides the wordplay; or
• the entire clue acts as the wordplay while a portion of the clue provides the definition.

For these clues, I will mark the definition with a solid underline and the wordplay with a  dashed underline. This means that a portion of the clue may have a solid underline, a portion of the clue may have a dashed underline and a portion of the clue may have a combined solid and dashed underline.

One final clue type is what I characterize as a cryptic definition comprised of a precise definition combined with cryptic elaboration. For example, in DT 28560 (setter unknown) the following clue appears:

•  26d   Heroic exploit, whichever way you look at it (4)

As the entire clue is a cryptic definition, it is marked with a dotted underline. The 'precise definition' is "heroic exploit" and is indicated by a solid underline.

Given the numeration, the precise definition could give rise to at least two solutions, DEED or FEAT. However, the 'cryptic elaboration' ("whichever way you look at it") indicates that the solution is a palindrome thereby immediately eliminating one of the two obvious choices.

Note that the part of the clue that I have called 'cryptic elaboration' does not provide a second independent route to the solution (as the wordplay would do in most other types of clue). Rather it merely provides a piece of additional information (elaboration) related to the 'precise definition'.

Again, this approach is a departure from past practice, but like the other changes mentioned previously is intended to remove inconsistencies in the way that I have been applying parsing markup to clues. The markup rules that I have been using until now evolved bit-by-bit over a long period of time resulting in some degree of internal inconsistency.

hide explanation

Across

8a   Good food brought over, type eaten abroad outside // this famous landmark? (11,4)

"good" = G (show explanation )

The abbreviation G^[a] for good comes from its use in education as a mark awarded on scholastic assignments or tests.

---

^[a] Collins English to Spanish Dictionary

hide explanation

---

The Brandenburg Gate^[5] is one of the city gates of Berlin (built 1788–91), the only one that survives. After the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961 it stood in East Berlin, a conspicuous symbol of a divided city. It was reopened in December 1989.

9a   Destination? All but the last // Indian state (3)

Goa^[5] is a state on the west coast of India. (show more )

Formerly a Portuguese territory, it was seized by India in 1961. It formed a Union Territory with Daman and Diu until 1987, when it was made a state.

hide

10a   No, ketchup is free // where the needy may eat (4,7)

11a   Before college, student // revealed a secret (3,2)

"college" = ETON (show explanation )

Eton College^[7], often informally referred to simply as Eton, is an English independent boarding school for boys located in Eton, Berkshire, near Windsor. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor". It is one of ten English schools, commonly referred to as public schools, regulated by the Public Schools Act of 1868.

Here and There

In Britain, an independent school[10] is a school that is neither financed nor controlled by the government or local authorities; in other words, an independent school[2] is not paid for with public money and does not belong to the state school system. In Britain, a public school[2] is a particular category of independent school, namely a secondary school, especially a boarding school, run independently of the state and financed by a combination of endowments and pupils' fees. Another category of independent school is the private school[2,5] which is a school run independently by an individual or group, especially for profit and supported wholly by the payment of fees. What we in North America would call a public school[2], is known in the UK as a state school[5] or a maintained school*. * In England and Wales, a maintained school[5] is a school that is funded by a local education authority.

hide explanation

"student" = L (show explanation )

The cryptic crossword convention of L meaning learner or student arises from the L-plate^[7], a square plate bearing a sans-serif letter L, for learner, which must be affixed to the front and back of a vehicle in various jurisdictions (including the UK) if its driver is a learner under instruction.

hide explanation

---

Let on^[5] is used in the sense of an informal expression meaning to reveal information ⇒ she knows a lot more than she lets on.

12a   Landlord in centre of Rugby won't fancy // an empty place (5,4)

A landlord^[5] is a man who keeps a pub.

Host^[2] is an old-fashioned term for an innkeeper or publican^*.

---

^* Publican^[5] is a British term for a person who owns or manages a pub.

Scratching the Surface
Rugby[5] is a town in central England, on the River Avon in Warwickshire. Rugby School — at which the sport of rugby football originated — was founded there in 1567.

15a   Element /of/ reportedly foolish swindle (7)

Silicon^[5] is the chemical element of atomic number 14, a non-metal with semiconducting properties, used in making electronic circuits. (show more )

Pure silicon exists in a shiny dark grey crystalline form and as an amorphous powder. Silicon is used in some alloys, but its great importance is in making electronic circuits. After oxygen, silicon is the most abundant element in the earth's crust; most rocks consist primarily of silica or silicates, and glass, pottery, and bricks are largely composed of silicate minerals.

hide

17a   Unreliable // quote about a bishop returning (7)

"bishop" = RR (show explanation )

Right Reverend^[5] (abbreviation RR^[2]) is a title given to a bishop, especially in the Anglican Church ⇒ the Right Reverend David Jenkins, Bishop of Durham.

hide explanation

19a   Thus, a popular time /for/ 'Emmerdale', for example (4,5)

Emmerdale^[5] (known as Emmerdale Farm until 1989) is a British soap opera that has been broadcast in the UK since 1972. The series is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales.

20a   Petite, // the Spanish female elected (5)

"the Spanish" = EL (show explanation )

In Spanish, the masculine singular form of the definite article is el^[8].

hide explanation

21a   Ringing? Check warning light /in/ part of recording studio (4,7)

"check" = CH (show explanation )

In chess, ch.^[10] is the abbreviation for check^*.

---

^* Check^[5] means to move a piece or pawn to a square where it attacks (the opposing king) ⇒ he moves his knight to check my king again.

hide explanation

---

An echo chamber^[5] is an enclosed space where sound reverberates ⇒ purpose-built echo chambers allow the addition of natural-sounding reverberation to the recordings.

24a   Letter from Greece, // from air hostess (3)

Rho^[5] is the seventeenth letter of the Greek alphabet (Ρ, ρ).

25a   A sweet, // perfect pick after something pungent (10,5)

Here and There
Sweet[5] is a British term for a small shaped piece of confectionery made with sugar ⇒ a bag of sweets. In North American parlance, sweets would be candy[5] and a sweet would be a piece of candy*. * In Britain, candy[5] means sugar crystallized by repeated boiling and slow evaporation ⇒ making candy at home is not difficult—the key is cooking the syrup to the right temperature.

A peppermint cream^[5] is a peppermint-flavoured fondant sweet [candy], often covered with chocolate.

Down

1d   Count, amid cheers, managed a // dance (10)

Postmortem
It did not help that a blur in the printout initially caused me to read the first word as "court".

Tell^[3,5,11] is an archaic term meaning to enumerate or count (the members of a group) ⇒ (i) the shepherd had told all his sheep; (ii) telling one's blessings; (iii) 16 windows, all told. Tell^[10] can also mean to count (votes), especially in a parliament.

Cheers^[5] is an informal British expression of gratitude or acknowledgement for something ⇒ Billy tossed him the key. ‘Cheers, pal.’.

Ta^[5] is an informal British exclamation signifying thank you ⇒‘Ta,’ said Willie gratefully.

---

The tarantella^[5] (also tarantelle) is a rapid whirling dance originating in southern Italy.

2d   Exceptional boy, // likely to win (4-2)

3d   Trained gunners in reserve /for/ rebellion (10)

Ice^[5] denotes complete absence of friendliness or warmth in manner or expression ⇒ the ice in his voice was only to hide the pain.

---

Is there a shade of difference between the meanings of insurgence and insurgency? Perhaps — or perhaps not. I was only familiar with the latter word.

• An insurgence^[5] is an act of rising in active revolt ⇒ (i) he quelled the insurgence and became governor of the region; (ii) annexation provoked extensive insurgence.
• An insurgency^[5] is an active revolt or uprising ⇒ (i) rebels are waging an armed insurgency to topple the monarchy; (ii) efforts to counter terrorism and insurgency.

4d   Trash // sailing vessel (4)

A junk^[5] is a flat-bottomed sailing vessel of a kind typical of China and the East Indies, with a prominent stem and lugsails.

5d   Rabble-rouser /having/ a go at it, suffering resistance (8)

"resistance" = R (show explanation )

In physics, R^[5] is a symbol used to represent electrical resistance in mathematical formulae.

hide explanation

6d   Try // hard to support foundation, endlessly (4)

"hard" = H (show explanation )

H^[2,5] is an abbreviation for hard, as used in describing grades of pencil lead ⇒ a 2H pencil.

hide explanation

7d   Write name on // flag (6)

A pennon^[5] is a long flag, often tapering and rounded, divided, or pointed at the end, originally a knight's personal flag.

8d   Pilot /in/ book, with slight worries, scratching head (7)

James Bigglesworth, nicknamed "Biggles"^[7], is a fictional pilot and adventurer, the title character and hero of the Biggles series of adventure books, written for young readers by English author W. E. Johns (1893–1968). Biggles made his first appearance in 1932. Johns continued to write "Biggles books" until his death in 1968, the series eventually spanning nearly a hundred volumes.

The Story Behind the Picture

Mr K illustrates his review on Big Dave's Crossword Blog with a photo of the Biggles of crossword fame. Occasional crosswords appearing in the British newspaper The Guardian under the pseudonym of Biggles were produced jointly by four regular Guardian compilers, all with the forename John. The compilers (together with their regular Guardian pseudonyms) are (from left to right in the photo): John Young (Shed), John Halpern (Paul), John Graham (Araucaria), and John Henderson (Enigmatist). They explained the derivation of the pseudonym thus: Just as the Biggles books were the work of W. E. Johns, so Biggles crosswords are the work of "we Johns". We know John Halpern, who sets the unattributed Cryptic Crossword in The Daily Telegraph on alternate Mondays, as Dada (the pseudonym he uses when setting the Toughie Crossword in The Daily Telegraph).

13d   Call number up, ring // versatile musician (3-3,4)

14d   Inappropriate, // not working (3,2,5)

16d   Short grumpy // note (8)

Crotchet^[5] is a British name for a quarter note, a note having the time value of a quarter of a semibreve^* or half a minim^**, represented by a large solid dot with a plain stem.

---

^* Semibreve^[5] is a British name for a whole note.
^** Minim^[5] is a British name for a half note.

18d   Caught playing well /in/ match (7)

"caught" = C (show explanation )

In cricket, one way for a batsman to be dismissed is to be caught out^[5], that is for a player on the opposing team to catch a ball that has been hit by the batsman before it touches the ground.

On cricket scorecards, the abbreviation c.^[2,10] or c^[5] denotes caught (by).

hide explanation

The phrase on form (a British variant of in form^[5]) is an expression denoting (of a sports player or team) playing or performing well.

19d   Dropping off // agent to secure shelter (6)

20d   Improve quality of // restaurant, primarily, in nice refurbished hotel (6)

Hotel^[5] is a code word representing the letter H, used in radio communication.

22d   Some in hierarchy, perhaps, /will get/ publicity (4)

23d   Host // foolish to exclude British (4)

Barmy^[5] (adjective) is an informal British term meaning:

• mad; crazy ⇒ I thought I was going barmy at first
• extremely foolish ⇒ this is a barmy decision

The Story Behind the Video

Mr K illustrates his review with a video of the Barmy Army in action. Barmy Army[7] is a name applied to fans of the England cricket team, especially those who travel with the team as part of an organized tour. The group was given its name by the Australian media during the 1994-1995 Test* series in Australia, reportedly for the fans' hopeless audacity in travelling all the way to Australia in the near-certain knowledge that their team would lose, and the fact that they kept on chanting encouragement to the England team even when England were losing quite badly. * Test[5] (short for Test match)[5] denotes an international cricket or rugby match, typically one of a series, played between teams representing two different countries.

Key to Reference Sources: 

^[1]   - The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition
^[2]   - Search Chambers - (Chambers 21st Century Dictionary)
^[3]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (American Heritage Dictionary)
^[4]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)
^[5]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford Dictionary of English)
^[6]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford American Dictionary)
^[7]   - Wikipedia
^[8]   - Reverso Online Dictionary (Collins French-English Dictionary)
^[9]   - Infoplease (Random House Unabridged Dictionary)
^[10] - CollinsDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)
^[11] - TheFreeDictionary.com (Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary)
^[12] - CollinsDictionary.com (Webster’s New World College Dictionary)
^[13] - MacmillanDictionary.com (Macmillan Dictionary)
^[14] - CollinsDictionary.com (COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary)

Signing off for today — Falcon